在推广神韵中放下自我
Let Go of Self in Promoting Shen Yun
悉尼 燕妮
Sydney, Yan Ni
尊敬的师父好！同修们好！
Greetings, revered Master. Greetings fellow practitioners.
自从来到澳洲，我每年都参与推广神韵的项目，2015年的神韵推广也不例外。巧的是学校那时放三个多月的暑假正好到神韵演出结束，同修们都说这段时间就是让我推广神韵的，我自己也觉得是。这个暑假我把所有的精力和时间都投入了進去，而这过程中的酸甜苦辣都让我在修炼中成熟起来，谢谢师父给我这样的机会。
Ever since I came to Australia, I’ve been involved in promoting Shen Yun every year, and 2015 was no exception. The funny thing was, my three-month school summer vacation coincided with the time leading up to the shows. Practitioners all said this period of time was to allow me to promote Shen Yun and I thought so too. I put in all of my energy and time over the summer break to promote the show. The ups and downs that I experienced during the process made me more mature in my cultivation. Thank you Master for giving me such an opportunity.
首先克服的是怕吃苦的心。那段时间我基本是5天在商场卖票，剩下的2天贴海报或插广告牌，安排得满，心里比较踏实。刚开始觉得很累还经常会迟到，尤其是商场卖票，经常是早上很早就出门，因为有的商场很远，而且推票的八个多小时经常站的我腰酸腿疼要坐下来休息。效果可想而知。
The first thing I had to overcome was fear of suffering. During that time, I was pretty much selling tickets at shopping centres five days a week, on the other two days, I helped put up posters or find new spots for Shen Yun billboards. My schedule was tight and I was steadfast. But at the beginning, I felt very tired and often arrived late. Particularly when going to the shopping centres, I often had to get up early and leave the house early as some of the centres were very far away. I often had to sit down and take a break as my back ached and feet hurt from standing for 8 hours selling tickets. You can imagine how things went.
我一直觉得我把所有时间都拿出来了我在尽自己的全力，然而不是的，我的心没有尽全力。我太看重自己的感受了，觉得自己累了，应该休息了，觉得自己已经出门很早了，迟到一点应该能理解一下。师父说，“有了这个身体之后，冷了不行，热了不行，累了不行，饿了不行，反正是苦。”（《转法轮‧第三讲》）神韵是在救人，是世人能走入未来的船票，这么严肃的事，责任重大，而我却把自己这些人的感受看重了，没有以一个救人的使者的标准要求自己。
I always felt that I gave all of my time, and that I was doing my absolute best, but actually, my heart wasn’t fully committed. I placed too much emphasis on how I felt. I feel tired, so I should take a break. I feel I already left the house early, so if I’m a little late that can be forgiven. Master said: “With this body, one cannot put up with it if the body is cold, hot, tired, or hungry. In any case, it is suffering.” (Zhuan Falun, Lecture 3) Shen Yun is saving people, it is a ticket for people to enter the future. It is such a serious matter and the responsibility is huge, yet I was too concerned about how I felt – just like an everyday person. I didn’t hold myself to the standards of a practitioner who is here to save people.
师父说，“宇宙的神、众生可都看着呢，大法弟子在的位置、起到的作用，那都是关系到人类存亡的。”（《二零零五年旧金山法会讲法》）在人的这个身体的感受中打转，已经是常人的状态了，正神都不会把有缘人带过来的。当我明白这些以后，除了一两次受到干扰外，我就再也不迟到了，神奇的是，我以前拖拉磨蹭的毛病也不知不觉改了。而我再感觉累时，我会想‘累’制约不了我，如果还是累，就发正念清除干扰，同时向内找。
Master said: “The divine beings and all sentient beings in the cosmos are watching. The positions Dafa disciples are in and the roles they are playing are both tied to the survival of humankind.” (Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005) If you’re caught up in how the human body feels, then you’re already in the state of an everyday person. The righteous gods won’t bring predestined people over to buy tickets. Once I understood this I stopped being late, except on the odd occasion. The miraculous thing is, I unconsciously changed my habit of dawdling and wasting time. And when I felt tired, I would think: “tiredness cannot impede me”. If I was still tired, I’d send righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference, and look within at the same time.
师父说，“我说人炼功这样举着胳膊就能修成了，那简直太容易了。”（《转法轮‧第四讲》）不仅劳其筋骨，还要苦其心志。
Master said: “I would say that it is simply too easy if one can succeed in cultivation by just holding the arms up like that.” (Zhuan Falun, Lecture 4) Not only must I temper my body, I must also temper my will.
推广过程中与同修的配合也很重要。很多同修都是有很多年推广的经验和自己的一套方法。配合时就会出现各自认为自己的方法好，更能起到救人的效果，而看别人的总是能看到不足或者可以改進的地方。如果不能及时归正这种不在法上的思想，这种思想就会被旧势力不断加强，觉得自己的好，执着于好坏对错上，最终会干扰我们救人。
During promotions, cooperating with practitioners is very important. Many practitioners have years of experience promoting the show, and their own way of doing things. In working with others, you’ll have times when individuals think: “my way is the best, and can save people more effectively”. When you look at others you always tend see their shortcomings or areas where they can improve. If you can’t promptly correct these kind of thoughts, which are not on the Fa, these thoughts will be continually strengthened by the old forces, making you think your way is the best, what’s good or bad and right or wrong. In the end it will interfere with us saving people.
当我看到有的同修不够主动或太主动时，我会忍住不说然后告诉自己不要老盯着同修，要纯净自己的思想，少些杂念，多些正念。可这还不够，对方会过来告诉我我太主动或我太不主动，有时还很强势。这时我的心就平静不下来了，会觉得委屈，会觉得我还看你的方法不好呢，我都在努力修自己了，可你不修自己还要改变别人。越这样想越委屈，今天这个同修让我要主动点明天另一位同修又说我太主动，到底我要怎么做呢？自己的心被带动了，整个场也变得不和谐，这样的状态众生怎么会来呢。可是救人这么紧迫，耽误不起啊。我知道我要提高了，同修就像一面镜子，虽然没有说出来，但我心里也是这么想同修的，虽然有克制自己，但那个物质还在，而且还有不喜欢让别人说的心，甚至后来同修善意的提醒也抵触起来。
When I saw some practitioners weren’t proactive enough or too proactive, I would hold back my words and then tell myself not to focus on others, that I must purify my own thoughts, have fewer distractions and have more righteous thoughts. But that wasn’t enough. Another person might come and tell me that I was too proactive or not proactive enough, sometimes with a strong tone. At this time, I couldn’t calm down and felt that I’d been unfairly treated. Today this practitioner wants me to be more proactive, tomorrow another practitioner says I’m not proactive enough, what exactly am I supposed to do? My heart was moved and the whole field became inharmonious. In such a state, why would sentient beings come? But saving people is so urgent, and we can’t afford to delay. I knew that I must improve. Practitioners’ notions are a reflection of my own. Although I didn’t speak about it, I also look at other practitioners in the same critical way. Although I restrained myself, the negative thoughts were still there. I really didn’t like to be criticised by others. Even when others kindly reminded me where I needed to improve, I wouldn’t accept it.
是啊，我觉得自己很在理（人的理），真的在理又能怎样呢，是在法上提高了吗？我还是太看重表面，没有从事情中跳出来，忘记了是师父在做，我是在这个过程中向内找修自己，从根本上改变自己，同化大法，问题出在自己这里。
Yes, I thought that I was reasonable (by everyday principles), but even if I’m reasonable what does that count for? It is whether I was improving from the Fa that matters. I was too attached to how things appear on the surface and I couldn’t rise above issues. I forgot that Master is in control of everything, and that in this process, I need to look within, change myself fundamentally and assimilate to Dafa. The problems all stem from me.
神韵的内涵很深。在推广过程中，我也体会到神韵对我的要求在不断提高。刚通过神韵一级考试的时候，那时我在语言课上尝试着给老师把神韵一級考试的例文背下来，出乎我意料的是，老师不是对我的说英文的表现给予反馈，而是若有所思的盘算要给她父母买票了。可是后来随着做得多了，我再背那些句子就显得不是轻易能打动人了。因为太熟悉，很容易就成了背书的状态。如果对神韵的理解只停留在表面，那样说出来的话是没有内涵，没有力量的。
Shen Yun has deeper meanings. In promoting Shen Yun, I could feel the requirements for me were getting higher and higher. Soon after passing the Shen Yun promotion level 1 assessment, I tried to recite one of the Shen Yun sample paragraphs to my English teacher. To my surprise, the teacher didn’t give me feedback on my English, but instead she considered how to buy tickets for her parents. Later on though, as I did more and more, the same words I recited didn’t move people as easily. Because the words had become too familiar, so it easily turned into a recitation. If my understanding of Shen Yun only stays at the surface, then what I say won’t carry any deeper meaning or have an impact.
一次我把推广时经常给常人看得一本画册仔仔细细看了一遍，这才发现一些舞蹈中所表现的故事及一些传统道德观念我了解的其实并不是很清楚。看完之后自己也学到不少领悟不少，再给别人讲的时候就更深入更全面，效果也更好，尤其自己也越发喜爱神韵，越说越觉得神韵好棒好漂亮，而这时众生也会被这个场带动，也觉得神韵太美太好了，很快就动心而且还很兴奋。学习神韵，更深入理解神韵，更用心对待神韵，效果会好。
Once I carefully read through the Shen Yun picture album which I often showed to everyday people when promoting the show. It was then I realised that I wasn’t very clear about the stories behind some of the dances and certain traditional moral principles. After I read it, I learnt a lot. When I spoke to others again, I could go into more depth, be more thorough, and the result was much better. I became more and more fond of Shen Yun, and the more I spoke about the show, the more I felt Shen Yun is so great, and so beautiful. At these times, sentient beings would be moved by the energy field, and they would also feel that Shen Yun is so beautiful and so good. They would be easily moved and got very excited. When you learn from Shen Yun, understand Shen Yun on a deeper level, and wholeheartedly promote Shen Yun, the result will be good.
还有一点，我也发现除了神韵歌曲的歌词外，还有很多舞蹈的乐曲都是师父写的。实际远不止这些，神韵真的是师父一手在做。这才想起自己以前很多时候都是用人心在对待神韵，会在心里想我更喜欢这个，或者更喜欢那个，有时自己还会做比较，自己都没有意识到自己在用人心衡量神韵。如果这些都是师父在做，我怎么能去按照自己的喜好随便评判呢，实在太不敬了。随着对神韵的理解加深，我也以更谦卑的心态去推广神韵了。
Furthermore, in addition to the Shen Yun songs and lyrics, I understood that many of the musical compositions were also written by Master. Actually it is far more than that; Master is leading Shen Yun. I recall many times in the past I treated Shen Yun with a human mindset. I would think: “I like this piece more, I like that piece more”, and sometimes I’d also compare the performances. I didn’t realise that I was evaluating Shen Yun with a human mindset. If Shen Yun is led by Master, how could I casually judge Shen Yun with my own preferences? It is so disrespectful. As my understanding towards Shen Yun deepened, I began to promote the show with a more humble attitude.
做什么事情坚持都是至关重要的。销售人员每一天的状态，都直接影响到出票的效果。每天赶商场疲于奔波，慢慢的又陷入到一种做事的状态中，这样周而复始的重复，正念也不强了，救人的心也淡了。师父说，“得认认真真的把你应该要做的事情做好了，这才是了不起的。叫做就去做了，可是哪，从做事的态度上，怎么样能够救了人这个问题上，你不认真去思考，这是修炼问题。”（《二零一五年纽约法会讲法》）我是要去掉对卖票结果的执着，可是不是变得麻木。师父让我学会去思考，不是做完就完了。所以每天回家后不是想着赶快休息，而是想想一天卖票的效果，或好或坏都是什么原因，“少息自省添正念. 明析不足再精進。”（《洪吟二‧理智醒觉》）从技术到心性，总结经验，取长补短，完善自己。
Persisting in anything that you do is so important. The salesperson’s state of mind each day directly affects the ticket sales. Each day I was rushing to and from the shopping centre, and slowly I went into a state of ‘doing things’. In the routine of repetition my righteous thoughts weren’t as strong and my heart for saving people weakened. Master said: “You have to wholeheartedly do a good job at whatever you are supposed to do—and only then is it admirable. You might be doing what you’re told, but if you don’t really pay attention to your attitude toward things or how to effectively save people, then that’s a problem in your cultivation.” (Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference) I needed to get rid of the pursuit of selling tickets, but neither must I become indifferent. Master wants me to learn how to reflect, and not just get things done. So every day when I went home, I didn’t think about how to have a quick rest, but I thought about the day’s sales results and the reasons why it was good or bad. Master said: “Pause for a moment of self-reflection, and increase your righteous thoughts Thoroughly analyze your shortcomings, and progress with renewed diligence” (from “Rational and Awake” , Hong Yin Vol. II)
From technique to xinxing, I must learn the lessons, learn from others, and improve myself.
师父曾在讲法中说，“你們知道失去了多少生命？！看到那場上空著的座位，你們知道我啥感受？”（《大法弟子必须学法》）因为那些座位明年就不是他们的了。对一些众生来说，也许他得救的机会就这么一次。我非常愧疚，突然清醒过来一样。自己肩上的责任这么重大，助师正法，救度众生，怎么能让旧势力利用我们还未修去的人心，制造隔阂干扰，起阻碍作用，这不是师父要的，即使我们在磨难中修好了，众生却没了，而这些所谓的人心也是被强加的，不属于真正的自己。
Master said before, “Do you realize how many lives have been lost?! Do you know how I feel when I see those empty seats in the theater?” (Dafa Disciples must Study the Fa – Fa teaching given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference)
He would shed tears for those sentient beings that had lost their precious opportunity to be saved because the following year those seats wouldn’t be designated for them. For some sentient beings, perhaps this is their only chance to be saved. How can I let the old forces take advantage of the attachments which I haven’t yet cultivated away, and create gaps to interfere with us – create obstructions. This is not what Master wants. Even if we cultivate well through these tribulations, some sentient beings lost their chance. Those attachments have been imposed on us, and they are not part of our true selves.
我曾在心里对师父说，只要能让众生买票得救，什么我都要放得下，不管和谁，我都要放下自我，不管什么人心，都要在法中归正。有时看着剩下的票，我急得要哭，我在心里问师父，应该怎么做才能找到这些人让他们买票，我把自己交给师父了，师父要怎么做我就去做。我感觉到师父强大的加持，去掉了我很多人心和不好的物质，再碰到许多事情都动不了我的心了，好像经历这些事情的不是我，很平淡就过去了。而师父只是让我变得更纯净去兑现自己的誓约去救度世人。
I once said to Master, as long as sentient beings buy Shen Yun tickets and are saved I will let go of anything – whatever is involved. I must let go of self regardless of what is required to achieve that. I must correct this attachment in accordance with the Fa. Sometimes when I saw unsold tickets, I was so anxious that I wanted to cry, I asked Master: “how do I find the people to buy these tickets. I hand myself over to Master, I will do what Master wants”. I felt Master’s immense strength and support, and got rid of many attachments and bad substances. When I encountered certain situations again, they couldn’t move me. It felt like what I experienced before wasn’t actually part of me and just passed by like an everyday event. Master enabled me to become more pure in fulfilling my mission to save people.
师父说，“不是为改动我要的，而是按照我说的去圆容它，这就是宇宙中生命最大的善念。”（《二零零三年元宵节讲法》）。当我最大限度去圆融师父要的，师父把我往上拔了一大截，让我走出人，走向神。
Master said: “not to change what I want, but to harmonize and complete things according to what I’ve said–is the best thought a being in the cosmos could have. ”
(Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference) When I did things according to what Master wants to the greatest extent possible, Master pulled me up, enabling me to walk out of humanness, walk towards godhood.
神韵在悉尼的演出刚一结束我就开学了。我是一个不敏感的人，可是那时我的直觉告诉我师父给予了我好多好多，推广的时候我有时还觉得自己很辛苦，然而我的那点付出在师父宏大的慈悲恩赐中太渺小太不值一提了。一个明显的表现就是师父给我打开智慧，我最后这个学期学习格外的轻松，学业各方面的表现都很突出理解能力很强，受到老师的关注，但我花在学业上的时间比前两个学期却少得多。最后这个学期三门课拿了一个HD (High Distinction) 和两个D (Distinction)，其中还有我以前头疼的理论课。真的谢谢师父。
When the Shen Yun shows in Sydney wrapped up, I started school again. I’m not a sensitive person, but I instinctively told myself that Master had given me so much during the promotions. Sometimes I felt it was hard, but my contribution was so tiny and unworthy of mentioning compared to Master’s immense gift of compassion. An obvious manifestation was that Master helped open up my wisdom. During the last semester my studies were such a breeze. I excelled in many aspects of my assignments, and my comprehension was strong. I was closely cared for by Master. I spent a lot less time on studying than I had in the previous two semesters. In the last semester, I received a high distinction and two distinctions. One of these was in a theory subject which used to give me a lot of headaches. I truly thank Master.
最后还想交流一个就是同修们真的要拿起笔来写交流稿，不仅是向师父汇报，而且法会是师父给我们留下来的修炼形式之一，写稿就是主动走师父安排的路，师父让我们做的一定是最好的，在这个过程中师父就能帮我们。说来愧疚自己这次写稿分了三四次才完稿，可这三四次每次师父都让我在法理上更明白，点化我困惑或懈怠了的问题，让我回到精進时的状态。
Finally, the last thing I’d like to share is that practitioners truly need to put pen to paper and write an experience sharing. Not only are we reporting to Master, but the Fahui is one of the cultivation forms that Master left for us. When you write your experience sharing, you are actively walking the path arranged by Master. What Master wants us to do is definitely the best, and in this process, Master can help us. I feel guilty that it took me three or four attempts to finish writing this, but through each attempt, Master helped me become clearer on the Fa principles, hinting at the problems I was puzzled by, or problems I had overlooked, enabling me to return to the state of being diligent.
不在法上的地方请同修慈悲指正。
Practitioners, please kindly point out anything that is not appropriate.
谢谢师父！
谢谢同修！
Thank you, Master.
Thank you, fellow practitioners.